CHRIS UHLMANN, PRESENTER: After any significant terror attack, local Federal agencies mobilise to ensure the safety of Australians at the scene, and the weigh the chance this country might be the target. This morning the National Security Adviser and Director General of our Domestic Intelligence Agency, ASIO briefed the Prime Minister and the Attorney General. Julia Gillard later offered her condolences to the people of the United States for what she called a brutal and senseless attack. Foreign Minister Bob Carr joined me tonight from Melbourne. Bob Carr, welcome.

BOB CARR, AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Pleasure, Chris.

CHRIS UHLMANN: What's the most current advice you have on whether any Australians were injured in this attack?

BOB CARR: Well, 14 hours after the attack I'm still assured that there are no Australians among the casualties, and that's after DFAT has checked with the relevant points in Boston, so that at least is good news.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Have any Australians been seeking consular assistance?

BOB CARR: I haven't been advised on that. I think these days people make contact pretty quickly with their families, with mobile phones and mobile phone coverage was only out of action, it seems, for a short period.

CHRIS UHLMANN: If anyone is still worried about family, friends, relatives, what should they do?

BOB CARR: The DFAT hotline 1300 555 135, 1300 555 135.

CHRIS UHLMANN: So what is your advice to people now who are considering travelling to the United States?

BOB CARR: Well if I were them I wouldn't alter my travel arrangements. This is something that - the way we live now could occur at any time. In fact, if you look at the experience of terrorism since September 11, 2001, what seems to be striking, and I'm making no early assumptions, no premature assumptions about the genesis of this attack, what is striking is how little progress in over a decade the terrorists have made and it's not - that's not an invitation to be complacent, not for a moment. It's only because of good intelligence that there haven't been further attacks like this. I've got two pages that list the attempted attacks in America that were thwarted by good intelligence. Counter terrorism is working. But given the anxiety we all felt in the immediate wake of September 11 it is somewhat reassuring that this is the worst international terrorism can do if indeed this turns out to be such an attack.

CHRIS UHLMANN: And still 14 hours on we're no clearer on that, are we? It could have been a domestic attack?

BOB CARR: Everything I say is qualified by the fact that we have not yet the full account. And I should point this out as well, that we have at least one instance of a nativist terror incident in America and a very, very bad one, the Oklahoma City bombing.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Indeed, and 168 people were killed in that bombing. When you look at Australia's threat at the moment, the Government says today that it's still remaining at medium, how do you make that assessment?

BOB CARR: I leave that to ASIO and DFAT. It's been at that level since the immediate wake of September 11. It means the terrorist attack could occur and I suppose is confirmed by the fact there's been at least four serious terrorist attacks planned in Australia but intercepted, intercepted, I might say, by the work of ASIO, the Federal Police and State police forces. Indeed I was aware of one case that was very, very carefully monitored back when I was Premier of NSW, and it did reflect a high degree of sophisticated cooperation between our Federal and State law enforcement agencies. I think intelligence gathering is the key to safeguarding the Australian people but of course we've got to succeed every time, the terrorists can fail 99 times and succeed only the 100th attempt.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Well the new ambassador for counter terrorism, Bill Fisher has told ABC that Australia still remain a significant target for terrorists and for extremists. Is that more likely to come from foreign nationals or would they be domestically generated extremists?

BOB CARR: I'm advised that the 23 in jail in Australia, as a result of the disruption of those four serious terrorist attacks that were planned in Australia. The majority of those were Australian born. and this would fit the pattern, the recent pattern in the US, the UK, elsewhere in Europe, of Australia - of native born terrorism, of local terrorism and of course that's something that gives us pause because it means people are emerging from a thoroughly naturalised background playing cricket, as we said of the terrorists responsible for the underground bombings in London, and by every test integrated, assimilated as members of that community are still capable of going to war with it.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Are you concerned by reports that quite a few Australians are joining up to fight in Syria?

BOB CARR: Yes, I am. There was a global figure quoted on the weekend in an interview I did that I can't confirm or deny. The number of Australians who actually had been participating in the fighting would be a good deal lower than that 200 figure that was quoted. That 200 figure, if it is right, would include people who are raising money, expressing sympathy, people who have been described to me as Jihadist tourists turning up in a trouble spot. The number actually fighting for a terrorist entity is much smaller. And therefore they can be assured, and I send this message to that tiny section of the Australian community, they can be assured that they will be under the careful, loving attention of our security agencies and every move they take will be watched from now on. Security agencies have been successful. They have been successful, counter terrorism has worked in Australia. That is no invitation whatsoever to smugness or complacency but it should give us some measure of reassurance of the professionalism of the public servants we've charged with pursuing this. And their attentions are directed at Australians who foolishly breach Australian law and take themselves off to Syria to fight for declared terrorist entities.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Because the concern of course would be they would leave with the best of intentions and come back radicalised?

BOB CARR: Indeed and that happened from Afghanistan. I've heard it said recently, I haven't been able to confirm it, that all Australians fighting for terrorist entities in Afghanistan have ended up being compromised in some sort of terrorist activity, either in Australia or elsewhere.